Saturday, May 3, 2014

CELEBRATING LIFE

Today, I experienced something which was
very different and unusual than a general birthday. In TC terminology it is
known as a "Recovery Birthday". A birthday signifies that the earth
has completed one revolution around the sun in its orbit. Similarly, a Recovery
Birthday is celebrated when an addict completes a year staying away from drugs
or being sober. We celebrate our birthdays every year with the same enthusiasm
and excitement irrespective of the kind of actions or deeds we might have
committed during that time, every year. But today, this day seemed of more
importance to me than any birth anniversaries. During this year, the addict
accomplishes a lot by going through all the hardships in one's life without
resorting to the escape route of numbing things with the use of drugs.

Today,
I witnessed Anand Mani's 15th recovery birthday celebrations. He shared his
feelings of 15 years of drug use and his journey of recovery, in front of
residents of Shafa. Like every year, this

this
year too, he came to the center to celebrate his birthday with the Shafa family
as a token of love and honor, as this place has helped him to embark on this
new beginning in his life. He shared amongst the family that after losing
everything in all realms of his life and getting admitted to 8 or 9 treatment
programs at the age of 37 years he came to Shafa. This was where he surrendered
to the program and accepted his own mistakes and this was only possible because
of the kind of atmosphere and platform offered at Shafa.

According
to him, this was the turning point in his journey towards recovery. This
journey must not have been very easy, after living a life of a junkie on the
streets, one forgets about his duties, responsibilities and a sense of
discretion between right and wrong. Then, he had to conform to the new norms of
the program and this helped him to instill self-check mechanisms, which ensured
him to sustain his recovery in every possible way. This family has become like
a safe haven for him, as his program got over and he was told to go home he got
scared, as he had nowhere to go. Tears welled in his eyes when he started
talking about the changes which had come in his life after being in recovery.
He still can't believe that he has a family who loves him, he has a son, he has
bought his own house, he has a good job as a banquet manager and he has build
relationships with people who support him. I strongly feel that he has become a
good role-model. Previously, he used to be a person who was using drugs as an
excuse or a support system for everything and now he faces every life's every
challenge without drugs and has managed to cope well. He himself said that
"Recovery is the fight and struggle in life" and this struggle is never-ending.

Today
after listening to his words, this birthday celebration felt special, when I
compared it with all other biological birthdays I have celebrated so far in my
life.